Christmas Stockings–Advent Calendar

The rule was that when I woke up and got up at 3am (as I inevitably did), I could look in my stocking but not open any gifts. And our stockings were magical things.

They always had a mandarin orange in the toe, but were topped with a plethora of interesting, unusual and sometimes even useful things. That could be a calendar, magazine, puzzle books, pens/pencils, unique pencil sharpeners, fingernail decorations and notepads to name a few.

Our empty stockings were pinned to our wooden over-fireplace mantel. The filled stockings would be found sitting on the under-fireplace mantel. Mine for many, many years was a gift from a family friend when I was, well, too young to remember. It was white felt with a red top and an felt angel on it, with a plastic angel head that popped out from it about a cenimetre. It was embellished with a little gold and red ric-rac edging. I made my current stocking when I was college. I made it quite large, being a hopeful soul, and on it there is my name written in glitter glue….you’re never too old for glitter!

“Howdy folks“, to quote grandma. For those of you not related to me, I am the keeper of all things family history for both sides of my family. I have been “doing” genealogy since I was about 10 years old, and even before as I listened to Nana’s stories of ... Continue reading →